Farmers in developing nations and other impoverished areas often lack the financial resources to invest in technologies that simplify the farming process and make it more profitable. In particular, many such farmers do not have access to inexpensive yet effective irrigation and water pumping technologies.
One pump intended to address this issue is a foot-powered pump called the MoneyMaker manufactured by KickStart Technologies. This pump, however, requires users to employ a relatively taxing “step climber” motion to pump water in which the user stands and alternately presses down on a pair of pedals. Additionally, because the pump is made primarily of machined metal parts, it is relatively expensive and cannot be manufactured by farmers themselves. Also, since the pump is not manufactured from parts that are easily replicable or available to farmers, it is relatively difficult and expensive to repair the pump in the event of a malfunction or to replace worn out parts.
Accordingly, there continues to exist a need for an inexpensive water pump that is easy to construct form materials commonly available even in impoverished areas of the world.